Flying off the Handle
by Long lost sorrow
Summary: When the flock finds a girl in the forest, Max is curious as to who she is. But when the girl and Fang begin to develope a bond, all she wants is the girl gone. I'm not telling the pairings as of yet, and the story's better than the description, trust me.
1. Feral

_Hello. You're probably reading this because you have nothing better to do. Or you're a Maximum Ride freak, and you read everything you can._

_Either way…Hi. How are you? I don't expect you to answer, so don't bother. I'm babbling now, so I'll just get on with it…_

**Feral**

I felt hands touch my arm slightly. Someone shakes me.

"Max? Max, wake up. There's someone here," I hear someone whisper in my ear. I snap my eyes open to see Iggy above me.

"_What_?" I ask him. Okay, I admit it…I was pissed. I mean, how much would you appreciate it if someone woke you up before the sun had deemed worthy enough to peek its head over the distant mountains? That's what I thought. No.

"I can hear someone."

"What!" I say, "What kind of someone? Erasers? Humans? What?" I snap. He shrugs.

"I don't know. Like someone looking for something. Scuffling…here, listen." He stands and steps back. I listen closely. He's right…Someone's scuffling around in the bushes. Not on two feet, not on four…On three?

"Can you hear-"

"Yeah," he answers, "It's limping."

"I'll be right back," I whisper to him. He nods. I jump in the air and fly to a nearby tree. From there, I can see it…'it' because I still can't tell if it's a boy or a girl. Its hair is tangled and I can see something shoved through its foot…Maybe an arrow? Or a stick?

I push a branch away from my face, just as it collapses onto the ground.

I jump down and spot a trail of unnaturally bright red blood leading from its body off into the distance. I nudge its body with my foot, tensed and ready to spring. It doesn't do anything. I lean over.

It looks extremely delicate, and strangely familiar. It's definitely a girl. I roll the body over and check her pulse. Strong and fast…Like normal for the flock, and me. Her forehead is so hot, I have to pull my hand back in fear of being burned.

"Iggy!" I yell, scaring a few birds.

"Max?" I hear Fang yell.

"Fang, come here!" I yell. I hear some moving of the undergrowth of the forest we've camped in for the night. Fang appears. His hair messed up and he has a wrinkle mark on his cheek from what I assume was his blanket. He yawns.

"Wha-Oh." Is all he says. I roll my eyes.

"Help me move her, please." He grabs her legs.

"Why can't you carry her yourself?" he asks. I point to her foot.

"Because I don't want to move _that_." He glances at it.

"Yeah, I can see where that might be a problem." He replies dryly. I glare at him.

"Well, let's _move_ her, then!" I tell him.

"Right." He grabs her legs, I grab her arms and we manage to move her into camp. We set her body down on my sleeping bag. I drop onto my knees and look at whatever's in her foot.

"Ouch," Fang says, raising an eyebrow at her. I nod. Iggy walks up.

"Hey, did you check it out?" he asks.

"Yeah…She's right here. I think she has a stick through her foot." Iggy frown and reaches down. He runs his hand down her foot until it comes to the problem. He touches it lightly. The girl flinches.

"What do you think we should-"

"MOMMA! MOMMA, WHERE IS YOU! MOMMA! I BROUGHT YOUR ACKPACK! MOMMA, WHERE IS YOU? MOMMA?" I stand.

"I'm getting Angel." I tell them. They nod and go back to staring at her. I roll my eyes.

"Angel? Angel, honey, wake up!" I tell her, touching her shoulder lightly. She opens her eyes slowly.

"Ouch," she says, wincing, "Who got hurt?"

"MOMMA!" that voice again. I wince.

"Gawd, that kid is loud…We found a girl in the woods, and she has a stick through her foot."

"Oh. That explains the pain."

"Right. Um…Iggy and Fang and me were wondering if…"

"MOMMA, I WANT FOOOOOOD!"

"You could read her and see what she did."

"Okay." Angel yawns and walks over to Fang.

"Hi, Fang. Hi, Iggy. Hi, Psyche." She says calmly. We blink at her. She closes her eyes and sits for a few minutes.

"MOMMA, THEY'RE COMING!" I look towards the voice and frown.

"You guys, I'm going to check that out." I tell them. Iggy stands.

"I'm going with you."

"Me, too," Fang says. I shake my head.

"Fang, you have to stay here. We need somebody to watch the flock." He doesn't look too happy about it, but he stays.

"Hello?" I call into the forest.

"MOMMA!" I hear. Something flies against my knees. I fall backwards. A little girl is smiling at me happily.

"I, um…I don't think I'm your momma." I tell her. She frowns and stands, brushing her little dress off.

"Where's my momma?" she asks, frowning. I stand.

"I don't know, sweetie. What does she look like?" The little frowns in concentration.

"Watch!" she says. I watch her. An image appears in front of me, flickering. It shows a sad face, smiling, and open arms. The image flickers and disappears. I shut my mouth slightly.

"I think I know where your Momma is…" I tell her, grabbing her hand. Iggy yawns.

"What happened?" he asks.

"She somehow made a picture of the girl from the forest appear in the air."

"Oh, okay." Completely nonplussed. Just like him. Psh. I walk the little girl back to camp and shake my head.

_What are you doing? They're strangers! And you're letting them in with the flock!_ The voice says.

_Sorry to burst your bubble, Voice, but I'm a little busy right now! _I reply.

_You never have time to listen to me, even though I saved you from that tank._ I growl.

_Voice, later._ I answer. We stop in front of my sleeping bag. Fang has his hand on the stick and looks about to pull it out.

"Stop!" He jumps and pulls his hand back.

"What? It's the only option." I stare at him.

"Fine. Do it." He takes hold of it again. I drop the little girls' hand as Angel stands and walks next to me. Fang frowns at the stick, and suddenly it's not in her foot anymore. I blink. Did I miss something?

"Uh…That was quick…" I tell him. He's staring at the stick in his hand. I see him drop it and wipe his hands on his pants.

"Uh…I didn't pull it out." He says. I stare at him.

"Then how did you…" It dawns on me.

"Oh." I say. So. Fang's found his power. Telekinesis. That could definitely be useful. Iggy frowns again.

"Hello, blind kid here! I need some info, people!"

"Fang can move things with his mind." There's a slight pause.

"Cool." He says, completely nonplussed. I shake my head.

"Well, we have to sterilize her, um, cut." Fang says. I nod and grab my pack to get my first aid kit. I get back to them and pull out one of those alcohol pads.

"Brace yourself," Fang mutters. I reach down and start to touch her wound with the cloth.

"What?" I ask. She sits suddenly with a scream and pulls her feet back in. She hisses at us like a cat would and crouches back on her feet.

"You won't get me. I'm done with your tests! No!" she screams at me. I sit back.

"Momma!" the little girl throws herself at the teenager, whose eyes are wild and breathing erratic. The little girl begins to sob.

"Momma, it's okay, be okay…" says, holding tight. The teenager lets out a deep breath and closes her eyes.

"I'm sorry." She says after her breathing's calmed. "I didn't mean to be so loud. They'll find us, now, so you'd better run."

"What?" I ask, surprised. She opens her eyes.

"I also want to thank you."

"For what?" Iggy asks. There's a slight rustling noise as Gazzy walks over.

"For saving me twice." There it is again…The overwhelming feeling I've seen her before. I frown.

"Twice?" Fang asks. A rueful smile plays across her lips.

"Twice. You probably have more important things to do than remember the people you saved." She pulls the baby towards her and hugs her. "Let me help you. New York. Experiments? Erasers? Anything?" It dawns on me.

"You're that girl, from the Institute for Higher Living!" I see her grin.

"Right on cue. And thanks again for getting me out of there. Me and Din."

"Din?" A smile plays across her lips.

"You may have noticed, she's _loud_."

"Momma, I broughted your ackpack, and the lady took me here." She points to me and keeps babbling. The girl frowns. 'Talkative, huh?' I mouth to Fang. He smiles a little. The girl bursts out laughing hysterically. We stare at her and she stops abruptly. She stands and holds her stomach.

"They're…coming…run…" she gasps out and runs for the trees. I follow her. She retches into the bushes.

"Who's coming?" I ask her. She pukes again.

"The…Erasers…Take…Din…" she trails off and pukes again, leaning against the tree. She spreads a pair of dark wings and takes off. She's doing something to her arm. I squint.

She's _gnawing on her arm_. I turn and run back to camp.

"Everyone, grab your stuff, U and A!" I yell. They grab their stuff and take off. I see Fang's carrying that baby-Din. In the distance, I see her-Did Angel call her Psyche?-hanging midair.

"I'll be right back!" I yell to Fang. He nods and hovers midair. I use my speed to go to her. Her arm is bleeding and she has tear streaks going down her face. Now that I look, I see how thin she is. She has these huge dark streaks under her eyes, and her cheeks look hollow. She can barely keep herself in the air. I shake my head and grab her.

"Hold on tight," I say and speed back to the flock. We look below. Erasers are flooding our makeshift campsite.

"Let's blow this joint." I tell them.

….:….

I heft Din up a little as I feel her slip. She clings tightly to my arms.

We've been switching off with Total and Din for the last four hours. Me and Fang, that is. I'm exhausted. I feel like my arms are about to fall off. I spot a likely looking cave nearby and sigh in relief.

"Over there," is all I can manage. Fang nods and turns that direction. I dawdle behind to let the flock go ahead of me. Nudge holds off and flies just above me.

"Yes, Nudge?" I ask.

"You know, me and Iggy could help. Carry those two, I mean. We're not weak, you know, just because you and Fang are oldest doesn't mean-"

"Nudge, if you want to help, go talk to Psyche," I say. Nudge frowns.

"No. I want to take Din. You need my help. Please? It's only for a few minutes." I sigh. She's has a point…If I drop the baby, several people will definitely be angry. I hand Din to Nudge.

She smiles and coos at her. I smile and shake my head. I shake my arms a little to get the blood moving again. The rest of the flock lands. I see Fang drop Total and reach into his pack for something. He gestures for Psyche to sit. She rolls up her sleeve and I wince at the marks she's inflicted on herself. There are deep gashes around her arm. He cleans it off and starts to wrap it with a bandage.

He laughs at something she says. I frown. Why am I so jealous?

I land in the cave.

"I'm sorry. I never caught your names," she says politely. Fang grabs her foot and starts to clean it off. She gasps and twists her threadbare shirt while wincing. He starts to wrap her foot, too.

"You probably shouldn't walk on this," he tells her. She nods and winces again.

"My name's Angel." Angel tells her, smiling. Psyche grins.

"A fitting name," she says.

"My name's Nudge. I don't really know how I got it, but I think it's a great name, don't you? You're name's awesome, too, but I don't know where that came from, either. And-" Iggy puts a hand over her mouth.

"Iggy," he says, holding out his spare hand. She grins and shakes it.

"Pleasure,"

"My name's The Gasman, but you can call me Gazzy."

"Why…Never mind, I don't think I want to know." She laughs a little.

"Fang." Fang says.

"Max. Maximum Ride." I tell her. She smiles at me.

"My name is Psyche…And, before you ask, the scientist who…Created me decided I reminded her of a girl from Greek mythology. I won't go into the story right now, but Psyche was supposed to be the most beautiful girl in the world. I told her she was wrong, but the name stuck and that's who I've been ever since. They gave me an unlucky name, and that's how my life is. I'm unlucky, so in all of your best interests, I'd suggest you get rid of me as soon as possible." I blink and stare at her. She seems sincere.

"What's so unlucky about being called beautiful?" Gazzy asks. She shakes her head.

"Psyche did something stupid and made her true love leave her. She was doomed to look for him for all eternity."

"Oh." Gazzy says. Psyche smiles again, sadly and stands.

"I'll be going now."

"No." Fang says. We all turn to look at him. There's that jealous feeling again.

"I feel like…Like there's a reason she found us again, and she needs to stay until we figure it out." The flock stares at him. They've probably never heard a speech so long from Fang.

"Fine." I say. Woah, that came out surprisingly childish-sounding. There's an uncomfortable silence.

"That's good, 'cus Din is really cute and I like her, she reminds me of Angel when Angel was little like her. Except Angel had really light hair and Din has brown hair. And Din is really, really loud and Angel was always quiet. And Din sleeps a lot. As far as I know, anyways. I haven't really known her that long, and…"

_She needs to stay with you, Max._

_Why? It's not like she can do anything useful._

You don't even know her. She's an empath. And she has…certain ties with Fang you don't know about.

I snort. "What, did he get her pregnant?" the flock turns and stares at me. I cough.

"Uh…. Sorry about that. I'll be right back."

I already hate this girl.

* * *

_Okey-dokey, I want some feedback, people! Tell me just how bad it was, okay? I really don't care what you say; just talk to me, all right? Buh-bye!_


	2. Lullaby

_Hello again. I was bored, so I decided to write the next one quickly _nn_…_

Disclaimer: I forgot to put this in the first chapter. Whoops. I don't own 'Maximum Ride'. Scott Patterson does. Just look on the cover of the book, see? points out author's name I also don't own 'Not That Kind of Thing' or 'Your Eyes' from Rent, or 'The only difference between martyrdom and suicide is press coverage' by Panic! At the Disco. Dang, that was long.

So. I've decided to put random (or not so random) lyrics at the beginnings of the chapters.

"_Tell the night to save its moonlight,_

_Tell the birds not to sing,_

_Tell the stars in the heavens they've been misaligned,_

'_Cause it's not that kind of thing."_

'Not That Kind of Thing' from The Wedding Singer

Lullaby 

I grab a blanket and head outside the cave for my turn on watch. It's abnormally cold tonight, but that's okay. There are footsteps behind me, and Fang sits down next to me.

"So." He says. I wait for a minute.

"So." The word hangs in the air for a few minutes.

"What do you think of her?"

"I think she's hiding something." He nods.

"I know, I get the same feeling. I think Angel knows, but she won't tell me. I asked." I rest my chin on my hands, not asking the question that's bugging me: Does he like-like her?

_Max, you need to embrace the fact that he matters more to you than the rest of the flock._ The Voice tells me. I roll my eyes.

_It's really none of your business. Shut up, Voice._ I reply. Nothing from the Voice. I sigh.

"What's up?" he asks. I shrug.

"The Voice."

"What'd it say now?"

"Oh….Nothing."

"It was about me, wasn't it?" I turn away from him. Maybe if he can't see my eyes, he can't tell I'm lying.

"Don't flatter yourself." I hear something and lean towards the mouth of the cave. Words float out.

"Your eyes, as we said our goodbyes…Can't get them out of my mind, and I find I can't hide from your eyes…The ones that took me by surprise…" I stand and lean in to see who's singing. I see Psyche leaning against the wall, stroking Din's hair back and singing, eyes closed. I shake my head slightly and sit back down.

"She's good." I frown. I agree with him, but for some reason I don't want to hear him say it.

"Yeah," I say.

"Max, what's bugging you?" he asks. I shrug.

"Normal stuff. I have too much to think about, and no time to think about it. It's giving me a headache."

"Do you want me to leave?" he stands to go. I grab his arm.

"Stay." I tell him. She's in the cave…and I don't want him to go back to her.

"The night you came into my life…And , where there's moonlight, I see your eyes. How'd I let you slip away, when I'm longing so to hold you? Now, I die for one more day 'cus there's something I should have told you. Yes, there's something I should have told you. When I looked into your eyes…Why does distance make us wise?"

"I guess it's just kind of comforting to have someone there you can hold on to when you've got no one else, you know?" I tell him. He shrugs.

"You were the song all along, and before the song dies…I should tell you, I should tell you…I have always loved you. You can see it in my eyes."

"Sure." He replies. I take a deep breath and let it out.

"Did I ever thank you for helping me back up when I'm down?" I ask him. He smiles slightly.

"Nope."

"Well, thanks anyways." He nods.

"No problem. If I didn't, something tells me we'd all be dead by now." I shrug and look at the stars. They're strangely close tonight.

"Sing another one!" I hear Nudge chirp from inside the cave. I shake my head a little bit and smile.

"Well, what do you want me to sing?"

"Sing something fast!"

"Okay…Um…Sit tight, I'm gonna need you to keep time, some on, just snap, snap, snap, your fingers for me. Good, good, now we're making some progress. Come on, just tap, tap, tap your toes to the beat. And I believe this may call for a proper introduction around. Don't you see? I'm the narrarator and this is just the prologue…" I'm unconsciously tapping my fingers against my leg. I stop.

"Catchy, isn't it?" Fang asks me. I nod. I can hear the kids giggling from inside. I peek again. Nudge, Gazzy and Angel are laughing in time with the music. Iggy stares in the general direction of Psyche with a surprised look on his face. I poke Fang.

"Hey, come look," I hiss. He leans over and looks in, then looks at me.

"Sounds like fun." I nod.

"Yeah. They really should be going to sleep… It's, what, ten o'clock?" he gives me a look.

"Hey, they deserve to have a little fun every now and then," he says. I shrug.

"I guess." There's a slightly awkward silence.

"So…have any of those headaches lately?" I shake my head.

"Seen me rolled in a ball, crying lately?" I shoot back. He rolls his eyes.

"No, but I _have_ seen you cry lately." Ah. The beach. I remember. Me, huddled up and crying into his shirt. I feel heat rise in my cheeks.

"You just had to bring that up."

"Just wanted to remind you of your promise."

"I remember just fine without your help!" I cross my arms and pull the blanket tighter around me.

"Max, I want to tell you something." Fang says. I feel my heart speed up.

"Yeah?" I ask.

"I think-" A violent scream comes from inside the cave. We both leap up and rush in at the same time. Psyche is curled in a ball on the floor, clutching her head. I hear a slight pause, then a wail getting louder and louder. A small puddle begins to form under her eyes. She shudders and turns so her face is in the growing water. Fang lunges forwards and pulls her head up as she starts to gag on her own tears. Iggy grabs her head and puts it in his lap. She keeps crying and blood trickles out her nose.

For a few seconds, she…Flickers and I see someone different in her place. But then it's gone, and I'm not sure if it ever happened at all. But it worries me…what if this is what she's been keeping from us?

After a while, she finally blacks out. Her body relaxes in Iggy's lap. He brushes her hair from her face, and that strange expression from before is back. She flickers again. Fang looks at me.

"Did you see that?" he asks. I nod. Angel frowns, and then smiles happily. Nudge pokes her.

"What?" she asks. Angel whispers something in her ear. Nudge giggles.

"Come on," I tell Fang. I grab his hand and pull him outside the cave and to the side.

"Did you see her flicker?" I ask him, putting my hands on my hips.

"Didn't I just ask you that?" he rises his eyebrow and gives me a look that says 'How did you get to be leader, you're a complete and total idiot!' I glare at him.

"Just confirming." I tell him. He shakes his head at me, and I think back.

"I hate to say this, but the other her…She was like your twin." He nods.

"I noticed that, too." He says. I wait for him to elaborate. Nada.

"Okay, well we'll just wait for her to slip up. It has to happen eventually." He nods.

"I'm going to sleep." I wrinkle my nose.

"I'll get you up when it's your turn on watch." He shrugs and goes back inside the cave. I hear a slight hissing noise and the firelight lessens considerably. I sigh and lean my head back against the rock wall, staring at the sky.

Yes, something was definitely going on. And I wanted to know what.

…:…

Fang glanced at his watch and stood to wake Iggy.

He walked into the cave then stopped, smothering a laugh. Somehow, Iggy was lying flat on his back in the middle of the cave, Psyche's head on his stomach. His hands were on her stomach, and she was holding on to them, her head turned towards Iggy's.

Fang shook his head slightly. He turned to where Max was sleeping, hair tousled, slight frown on her face and stopped.

He didn't want to embarrass Iggy. Iggy was like the brother he'd never had.

Also…there was something that told him Psyche didn't deserve more embarrassment. There was something about her that made him want to keep her safe, and make sure she was happy.

So, he shook Psyche's shoulder.

"Hey," he hissed. She stirred.

"Hey, wake up." She blinked and turned her head. Iggy turned a little. Her eyes widened, and even in the dark you could see her face turn a light shade darker.

"Careful, you don't want him to wake up." Fang whispered. Psyche nodded (as much as anyone can nod when they're lying on their back) and slowly disentangled herself from Iggy.

She winced as she stood and tottered uncertainly in place. Fang grabbed her arm and pulled her towards the mouth of the cave.

"Did anything happen between you two?" Psyche stared at him, twisting her wrists out of his grip.

"Is it any of your business? And, no, nothing happened _between us_, as you so _coyly_ put it." She crossed her arms and tapped her arm impatiently. Fang crossed his arms, and glared back at her. She finally stopped and made a face at him.

"I feel like I got hit by a truck, so I'm going to sleep, now." She told him, rolling her eyes and leaving the small half-circle of light to go back to restful sleep.

Fang shook his head a little and reached for Iggy…

* * *

_I know, not as long as the last one. It just seemed a good place to stop, so I did._

_Until next time!_


End file.
